Don't Worry, Be Happy

Another cold front has arrived. This one has been causing horrendous weather throughout the Southeast. My brother wrote this afternoon and said at 1PM it was 33 degrees in Daytona and the freezing rain had just stopped. He sent this picture of what my Yahoo weather was calling snow pellets.


Check out Tarwathie’s blog on the right of this webpage. Dick talks about how bad it has been in Vero Beach and how the cold has affected the turtles, fish, and pelicans. It will take them a long time to recover. Also be sure to read Mary Stella's latest post about the cold and the iguanas in the Florida Keys.

When the cold front came through here around noontime, the wind was blowing the rain vertical and the temps started to drop. Luckily I had anticipated the change and secured everything and closed up the boat to retain some heat.

I had also been to the grocery store earlier and don’t need to get food for awhile, in case the wind blows the predicted 25-35 mph for two days. Of course our grocery stores here in Hope Town are more the size of convenience stores in the U.S. This is a picture I took in the rain today of our Harbour View Grocery Store.

I was thrilled when I went there this morning and found that the freight boat had come in and they had restocked the shelves. The last time I was there, the food supplies were pretty depleted with some shelves and coolers almost bare. We’ve become used to making lists of items we want to buy, and then getting to the store and throwing the list away and getting what they have. Then we go to the other store in town, which is even smaller, and see if they have the preferred items. There is a real ‘supermarket’ in Marsh Harbour, the main city in Abaco, where there is a bit more choice and a better supply of fresh veggies, fruits, meats, and dairy foods (that is, if you get there within a day or so after the main freight boat from the U.S. has arrived. When the freighter comes in, supplies are loaded onto smaller freight boats, aka landing craft, and then brought to the out islands). Even the larger store is nothing like what we are used to in the States though. Once again it is all about adapting. “Don’t worry, be happy…you’re in the Bahamas, mon!”